Gene Wolfe’s speculative fiction masterpiece The Book of the New Sun is the latest epic to get an fully illustrated limited edition from The Folio Society, illustrated by artist Sam Weber.
The Folio Society art director and editorial team worked with the author, prior to his passing, who approved each stage of illustration and production.
Find out more about the edition with an interview with illustrator Sam Weber:
Each of the four volumes, in a single handmade slipcase, features a striking binding design by award-winning illustrator Sam Weber, who has also created an extraordinary sequence of haunting artworks, including double-page spreads and hand-drawn decorative initial letters at the start of each chapter. This edition includes a new introduction by modern master of fantasy and life-long fan of Wolfe, Neil Gaiman.
The strictly limited 750 hand numbered sets feature an exclusive limitation page signed by Gene Wolfe, Neil Gaiman and Sam Weber.
The Book Of The New Sun tells the story of Severian, a young torturer just learning his trade, who makes the mistake of falling in love with one of his victims. Unable to bear the sight of her pain, he offers his love the mercy of a sharp blade, and for this crime he is exiled from his home.
He is ordered to travel to the distant city of Thrax, there to take up the position of Executioner, but the journey will be longer and stranger than he can imagine. On the road Severian finds new friends and enemies, and discovers a strange jewel that seems to command power over life and death – a power that others will kill to obtain…
In his introduction to the book, author Neil Gaiman writes: “I revisit The Book Of The New Sun once a decade, and I learn more about the art and skill of reading it. And what I bring to reading it makes the reading experience deeper and more pleasurable, brings the story more precisely into focus, clarifies and delights. Gene Wolfe defined good literature once as ‘literature that could be read with pleasure by an educated reader, and reread with increased pleasure’, and this is so very true of The Book Of The New Sun. Your first journey through brings pleasures, brings story, brings Severian. Future journeys only make it better.”
Product details:
- Limited to 750 numbered copies
- Limitation page signed by Gene Wolfe, Sam Weber and Neil Gaiman
- Four volumes presented together in a handmade cloth-bound slipcase blocked on two sides in pale gold foil with designs by the illustrator and lined with silver mirrored paper
- Each volume three-quarter bound in black buckram with spines blocked in red foil and cloth front boards printed with designs by the illustrator
- Set in Jenson with Priori Serif display with decorative initial letters designed by the illustrator
- Printed on Abbey Pure Rough paper
- 1,196 pages of text in total
- Colour frontispiece and double-page illustration in each volume. Three black and white full-page plates in each volume.
- Printed in two colours throughout
- Black page edges
- 10˝ x 6.˝
The Book Of The New Sun by Gene Wolfe illustrated limited edition is available exclusively from The Folio Society. Get all the latest sci-fi news with evert issue of SciFiNow.